Polyandry, sexuality and the (mis)representation of indigenous women on Indian screens. The film Sonam: The Fortunate One

This chapter addresses the politics of (mis)representation of indigenous women on Indian screens, particularly focusing on the way independent films have contributed to the reinforcement of stereotypes that are embedded in hegemonic discourses of power, often played out through – and on – indigenous women’s bodies. I take as a case study the film Sonam: The Fortunate One (2005) by Assamese director Ahsan Muzid, an adaptation of the novel of the same title by the Arunachali writer Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi (first published in 1981 in Assamese). Shot in the Monpa language with a cast of non-professional actors, the film, according to filmmaker Ahsan Muzid, aimed to portray “polyandry in a small community called Brokpas, the yak shepherds of Arunachal Pradesh” (Ghosh 2007). However, misrepresenting polyandry as a sort of whimsical cicisbeism and encouraging a voyeuristic viewing perspective by apparently using the camera as a peephole to pry on the intimate moments of Sonam’s and other Brokpa women’s lives, the film ultimately fails to show the complex social and cultural practices of the Brokpas and instead simply reinforces the stereotypical exotic/erotic images of indigenous women familiar from other Indian screens.